Old photo treasures put memory to test

Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 12:42 p.m.

My family is probably like most others when it comes to photographs. We have a lot of them, and our system for knowing what and who the photographs are about is just about zero.

Thanks to my mother, I have one photograph that I know the exact time and place it was taken.

During World War II, my father was on active duty as an Army officer at Camp Sutton in Monroe, and I was stationed at the Charleston Navy Yard in South Carolina. My mother decided to pay me a visit on my 18th birthday in March 1943, so she took a bus from Monroe to the Navy base.

She had been around the military for a long time, first as a worker as Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, during World War I and then as a military wife since 1922, so she knew her way around the military. But it still surprised me to get a message from my chief petty officer to report and take a day of liberty.

She had somehow gotten me a day off so I could go to town with her. My mother told me she didn’t have any good pictures of me and wanted a regular portrait photographer to make one for her just in case of something bad happened to me during the war. I didn’t remember the last time I had a day of liberty, and she just pulled one out of a hat! I never did find out how she did that one.

What brought all this to my mind is the fact that it has been 70 years since that day, and this means I will be 88 this month.

I find myself in a position now that requires me to play a role most people never plan on having to do. Since I am the oldest, I get the honor of leading the pack in our search for who is who in all those photographs we have stuck all over the house.

This is not the most pleasant or fun-filled job you would want. My mother lived to be almost 95, and I’m wondering why we didn’t get her to identify everyone when she was here. I am not writing all this to complain but to encourage all of you who are among the oldest in your family to gather up all your pictures, round up your other older family members and start putting an ID on every photo you have lying around now.

These days we have so many entertainment outlets that we didn’t have back when we were young. Television alone takes up many hours of our days now, and with the new portable communication equipment industry having new ideas almost every day, we lose sight of the value of old photos. The new equipment should make it easier to keep up with the photos.

After all of the photos have been identified, I hope with the help of some of my kinfolks to assemble them in some kind of order, like by location and groupings. It will also be a good idea to rent a safety deposit box at a bank or put them in a fire-proof area. I can’t think of anything worse than getting all this information and then have a fire wipe out everything.

If any of you reading this column have any suggestions or helpful hints, please drop me a line at the paper. I am still having trouble with my computer, but I hope to have it working in the next month or so, and then you can send me an email.

<p>My family is probably like most others when it comes to photographs. We have a lot of them, and our system for knowing what and who the photographs are about is just about zero.</p><p>Thanks to my mother, I have one photograph that I know the exact time and place it was taken.</p><p>During World War II, my father was on active duty as an Army officer at Camp Sutton in Monroe, and I was stationed at the Charleston Navy Yard in South Carolina. My mother decided to pay me a visit on my 18th birthday in March 1943, so she took a bus from Monroe to the Navy base.</p><p>She had been around the military for a long time, first as a worker as Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, during World War I and then as a military wife since 1922, so she knew her way around the military. But it still surprised me to get a message from my chief petty officer to report and take a day of liberty.</p><p>She had somehow gotten me a day off so I could go to town with her. My mother told me she didn't have any good pictures of me and wanted a regular portrait photographer to make one for her just in case of something bad happened to me during the war. I didn't remember the last time I had a day of liberty, and she just pulled one out of a hat! I never did find out how she did that one.</p><p>What brought all this to my mind is the fact that it has been 70 years since that day, and this means I will be 88 this month.</p><p>I find myself in a position now that requires me to play a role most people never plan on having to do. Since I am the oldest, I get the honor of leading the pack in our search for who is who in all those photographs we have stuck all over the house.</p><p>This is not the most pleasant or fun-filled job you would want. My mother lived to be almost 95, and I'm wondering why we didn't get her to identify everyone when she was here. I am not writing all this to complain but to encourage all of you who are among the oldest in your family to gather up all your pictures, round up your other older family members and start putting an ID on every photo you have lying around now.</p><p>These days we have so many entertainment outlets that we didn't have back when we were young. Television alone takes up many hours of our days now, and with the new portable communication equipment industry having new ideas almost every day, we lose sight of the value of old photos. The new equipment should make it easier to keep up with the photos.</p><p>After all of the photos have been identified, I hope with the help of some of my kinfolks to assemble them in some kind of order, like by location and groupings. It will also be a good idea to rent a safety deposit box at a bank or put them in a fire-proof area. I can't think of anything worse than getting all this information and then have a fire wipe out everything.</p><p>If any of you reading this column have any suggestions or helpful hints, please drop me a line at the paper. I am still having trouble with my computer, but I hope to have it working in the next month or so, and then you can send me an email.</p>